CMLL
CMLL (FRI) 05/06/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Cronista del RIng, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, Mas Lucha (video), R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Astral, Eléctrico, Suicida b Panterita del Ring Jr., Robin, Valiente Jr. 
14:36
2) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
14:46
3) Reyna Isis b La Jarochita 
12:17. Isis used a mask pull to win. Jarochita challenged her to a mask match.
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black, Titán b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
17:42
5) Último Guerrero b Averno
21:11
I thought the show was good, not great. The opener was steadier than those have been in the past. Jarochita & Isis had a rough end to the first fall and I didn’t think fall two was a lot better, but they got home fine. Star Black looked like he’s too nervous to remember what he was going at times in the atomicos. UG/Averno turned into every UG singles match for the last several minutes – it’s hard for me not to mentally check out the moment he does the front superplex – but Averno brought different energy at least to the start of it. UG is a rudo works for the crowd cheers an awful lot, and this time it was part of the story.
UG/Averno and Jarochita/Isis both ended with apuesta challenges. The women seemed more serious about it, though Averno actually agreed to it and then left when UG wanted to do it right now. There’s really no reason to do a hair match after UG beat Averno cleanly with his finish, but CMLL’s coverage of the show was insistent this is a real thing. Jarochita/Isis feels like it could be a second apuesta match on a big show, and it’s set up a lot like the Isis/Vaquerita mask match on a Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. It seems too soon to make something for the Aniversario, but that’s the only other time CMLL does important apuesta matches. Isis defeated Vaquerita, and a winner of an apuesta match tends to lose the next one in CMLL if they happen a short time apart.
Titan flew to Japan Sunday morning.
CMLL (SAT) 05/07/2022 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha, CMLL]
1) Chamuel & Micro Ángel b Átomo & Mije 
Team Chamuel took 1/3
2) La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Skadi b Hera, Olympia, Tiffany
3) Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr. b Enfermero Jr., Nitro, Okumura
4) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado b Dark Panther, Esfinge, Star Jr.
5) Ángel de Oro, Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja DQ Blue Panther, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr.
Angel de Oro faked a foul from Soberano to draw the DQ.
Angel de Oro versus Soberano Jr. is likely for next week.
CMLL (SUN) 05/08/2022 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Full Metal & Mercurio b Aéreo & Shockercito
2) Cholo, Grako, Inquisidor b Arkalis, Cachorro, Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 2/3
3) Cancerbero, Kráneo, Virus b Diamond, Stigma, Volcano
Rudos took 1/3
4) Blue Panther, Dulce Gardenia, Star Black b El Coyote, Felino, Rey Bucanero
tecnicos took 2/3
5) Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto, Soberano Jr. b Atlantis, Negro Casas, Templario, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
Infernales took 1/3
It has been eight weeks since an important match took place on a Sunday show.
Puebla tonight has the Chavez brother defending the tag team titles against Averno & Volador. A title change seems unlikely.
CMLL (TUE) 05/10/2022 Arena México
1) Acero, Kaligua, Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia
2) Cachorro, Sangre Imperial, Valiente Jr. vs Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr.
3) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
4) Rey Bucanero vs Mephisto
5) Negro Casas, Templario, Volador Jr. vs Hechicero, Soberano Jr., Star Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
I wonder if the main event is meant to set up something, or is just nothing. They usually don’t build two matches at once for Tuesday.
CMLL (TUE) 05/10/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella de Jalisco I, Estrella de Jalisco II, Último Ángel vs Destello, Destructor, Ponzoña
2) Optimus & Trono vs Estrella Oriental & Minotauro
3) Cachorro, Misterio Blanco, Misterio Negro, Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Ángel Rebelde, Espíritu Negro, Halcón Negro Jr., Samuray Azteca
4) Cris Skin, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Flash vs Bestia Negra, Joker, Satánico
6) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Principe Daniel vs Difunto, Explosivo, Zandokan Jr.
Principe Daniel teams up with Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja a bunch, but this may be follow up to Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja and Explosivo failing to win the trios titles as a team. Schools match of the week is CDMX vs Queretaro.
It’s tough to pick up on things that aren’t happening, but I noticed this past week that Gallo & Flash haven’t been back here in a month when they lost the Occidente Tag Championships to Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno and acted so unprofessionally that the announcers called them out on it.
Okumura met with the Japanese ambassador to Mexico.
AAA
AAA TV this week aired the two dark matches from TripleMania Regia. The Marvel Lucha Libre match turned out to be Marvel Hulk & Marvel Capitan America (who was not Octagon Jr.) against Marvel Thanos and wasn’t much. An angle took place with Marvel Spider-Man (who definitely was Vikingo), Marvel Thor, Marvel Loki and a person that I believe was Marvel Female Dr. Ock (La Hiedra) got involved and it picked up after that, but none of this matters.
Copa TripleMania had eleven people in what was announced as an eight-person match. It was more comedy than action since they were doing the lumberjack bit as well. (Tio Korton made it to Monterrey for some reason; maybe he had been one of the masked La Empresa guys?) Toscano and Charly Manson were the big returns, Willie Mack was a surprise, and Microman won with a bunch of help. You don’t really need to go out of your way to see it.
There were a few vignettes on the episode. A Jeff & Karen Jarrett video bit aired that added nothing to the in-ring bit you already saw. Jarrett challenged Latin Lover and Vampiro & Rey Escorpion weren’t mentioned; it felt like that was taped before the show and maybe before they were sure who’d be involved. A Konnan/Hugo bit aired to establish Konnan is still a heel, explaining his assistance on FTR wrestling was because they were defrauding the fans (who Konnan also hates.) It is comedic that the AAA angle on that show was Konnan preventing the fans from being ripped off, while the AAA reality was AAA promising Fenix would wrestle and not delivering. Anyway, Konnan’s definitely a heel who hates Cibernetico, and it turns out Cibernetico is also definitely a heel. Faby Apache & Heavy Metal welcomed Charly Manson back to AAA while Cibernetico blew him off in a way where we’re supposed to get that Cibernetico was a jerk for doing so and Manson is definitely not a part of this version of Los Vipers.
The results are now complete if you’re a person who needs them. Next week’s Space show should be the matches that aired on FITE but not Space (Dragon/Penta, Mixed Tag, Park/Villano IV.) I may not bother streaming for the rest of the month, because that’s been seen and the next two weeks appear to repeat at the moment.
I didn’t like the live in-arena commentary during the PPV broadcast, but it was much better than the pre-show. That building was 25% full that early, and their voices banging around the vacant seats made it feel even emptier. I don’t think AAA’s going to change that for Tijuana so we’ll just have to get used to it.
Taya retained the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship on Saturday’s Impact PPV over Deonna Purrazzo, as expected. The post match moved Purrazzo onto a new feud, and I’m not sure what’s next for Taya or that title in Impact. I assume she’s sticking around.
WrestleMania weekend included two Martinez Entertainment shows that were really one show. The promotion went through the pretense of a card with Hijo del Santo and a card with AAA wrestlers, because Santo and AAA can’t stand each other. This was a work totally intended only for the AAA & Santo themselves, no one else has a reason to care. California-based RGR Promotions is going for the same thing on May 27th, with even less of a pretense. There’s a poster with Hijo del Santo, and there’s a poster with AAA talent, but it’s the same show happening at the same venue at the same time. It’s ridiculous; AAA and Santo are working on the same show, one or both are just too proud to admit they’ve given up their grudge because they value the money they could make more.
Other
IWRG (SUN) 05/08/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) John Tito & Kenji b Águila Oriental & Rey Aztaroth
Aguila Oriental replaced Super Cometa
2) Bengalee b Satania 
Bengalee pinned Satania, but Satania had a foot on the ropes
3) Garra Mortal, Limbo, Rey Halcón b Estrella de Oro, Genex, Spider Fly
4) Big Boy, Big Chicoche, Tackle b Leo, Ra-Zhata, Shil-Ka
Tackle was the Big Strippers partner. Chico Che pulled Ra-Zhata’s mask and pinned him.
5) Fly Warrior, Fulgor, Mr. Mike b Asterboy, Freelance, Noisy Boy
Old School pointed out they were undefeated and were confronted by La Pandemia, who are still EDM TRIOS champs and returning from an injury break soon. La Jaucan also showed up to ask for a title shot.
6) Accion Jackson, Gregori Sharpe, La Mosca, Shaun Moore, Shocko b Caballero de Plata, La Momia, Puma de Oro, Relámpago, Tonalli
Eliminations: Caballero de Plata (by Mosca), Mosca (Puma de Oro), Gregory Sharpe (Tonalli), Tonalli (Shaun Moore), Accion Jackson (La Momia), Puma de Oro (Shocko), Shaun Moore (Relampago), La Momia (Shocko with help from Accion Jackson), Relampago (Shocko, with help from Shaun Moore) leaving Shocko as the winner.
La Pandemia returning seems like the big news; they came out of nowhere to have a fun run last year in IWRG. (Pandemonium Jr. hurt his back, and they were originally expected back March/April.) The matches they set up here sound promising. It didn’t occur to me until they returned that IWRG had two trios champions and neither of them were appearing in the promotion; Dinastia Navarro remain the trios champions despite not working as a trio for IWRG in years.
KAOZ held their delayed show in Arena Coliseo Monterrey on Sunday, originally scheduled for March 27th. When that show was pushed back, promoter Alonso Botello said all the originally scheduled matches would happen (didn’t happen, matches were changed in normal Mexican wrestling fashion) and that 70% of the tickets were already sold. The building looked around 70% sold, suggesting they didn’t sell many tickets in six weeks or he was maybe making up a total in the first place. Running after TripleMania surely didn’t help.
This attempt at “the final ever show in Arena Coliseo Monterrey” got a lot less attention than it did back in March; I’ve seen one farewell story this time around, when there was plenty of similar coverage prior. Local sentiment is this show was still unlikely to be Arena Coliseo Monterrey’s final card. It’s more likely to be Alberto el Patron’s final show with KAOZ. The gist of it is the promoter Alonso Botello said he told Alberto he had to show up on time or he’d be off the show (and not paid), and Alberto showed up two hours late after the show had already started. There’s video of Dos Caras and Hijo de Dos Caras arguing with Botello, claiming they weren’t told the time, until Alberto literally shoves the door open and forces his way in. Alberto showing up late isn’t great, though there are suggestions Botello just wanted to get out of paying him. Neither side seems like a winner here, though it’s not even in the top ten of weird Alberto stories. Botello had previously said this was the last agreed-upon date and that seems unlikely to change. KAOZ is probably running a next show but didn’t appear to announce a date.
In other Monterrey news, a comedic lucha libre Facebook page Menos Lucha was broadcasting a different show when they were suddenly repeatedly punched. (It’s a little weird someone was filming the people filming the show right before the fight.) The comments on the video have identified the attacker as local luchador Rey Sultan, who is no one I know outside of seeing his name in prelim matches on Nuevo Leon shows. Menos Lucha is run by semi-retired luchador Saizo and the humor was described to me as “sarcastic”, “black” and more negative/business exposing than most Mexican wrestling coverage. The people inside wrestling see Saizo as a guy who wasn’t good enough to make it. Punching a guy in the face is not an ideal way to settle it, but it’s also weird they’d let him stream shows with that sort of hostility present. Mexican wrestling is different.
Thunder Rosa visited the Tijuana Lucha Libre museum. Didn’t really think about it at the time, but I’m a little surprised she didn’t end up on the AAA Tijuana TripleMania show. Maybe they didn’t want to do another women’s match, but even just putting her hair on the line in the cage match would’ve meant more locally than many of the women included. Rosa has rarely gotten a chance to wrestle in Tijuana.
CaraLucha announced they’re returning on June 4th in Neza’s Arena 2 de Junio. (The show is on June 4th, the arena is named June 2nd.) It’s more notable they’re coming back than what they’re doing, a show with an unremarkable mix of usual indie names (Texano, Trauma II and Corsario Negro Jr. in the main event) and Neza names who worked previous shows. CaraLucha was a hot indie from about 2013 to 2017 in Arena San Juan – Bandido’s recently mentioned in a Chris Hero interview that his match there in 2015 while still a Magnifico was key to him making it in Mexico City – then promoted one show away from Arena San Juan in 2018 and nothing since. This card looks more like a reunion of all friends rather than any big project from the future.
XPW announced Ludark Shaitan & Taya among the participants for their 06/25 women’s title tournament.
Texano Jr. was already back in Mexico and wrestling this weekend. Recent changes in NOAH (Nosawa reportedly out as booker) may have reduced the future involvement of Mexican wrestlers in that promotion.
Rush took to Twitter to challenge Kenny Omega, Daniel Bryan and CM Punk to matches. This was a social media bit intended to get attention. It did in Mexico, but it didn’t seem to get noticed in the US as designed. Rush just isn’t relevant among those circles at the moment.
Warrior Wrestling announced Dragon Bane vs. Alpha Wolf for their 05/28 St. Louis show.
Box y Lucha 3506 has the Copa Junior and Titan to the BOSJ field. As the magazine notes, Titan starts off with El Desperado. Titan’s a pretty strong favorite to pull that “upset” given normal NJPW tournament booking.